Ideally viruses attack computers in a completely different way than the way a natural virus infects a person. A computer virus has the ability to attack at many levels including the core files that help the computer run. When a virus attacks system files it may make it so a computer loses the ability to turn back on, and the only way to restore the computer is to reinstall all of the software including the operating system.



Installing files generally takes a decent amount of time, but installing an operating system is a much longer process. Think of the operating system or Os, as being the software that runs all of the other software. That being said the operating system is single handedly the most important piece of software a computer has, and once a virus begins messing with OS files there is no turning back, the computer needs to be reformatted.

Another aspect of OS re-installation is that most people don't have their OS disk readily available to them. Computers used to ship with their operating systems on disks but now computers are designed with a portioned hard drive that allows the owner to create the disk on their own, normally this is called a recovery disc. Even if a user usually has their recovery disk they often decide to not attempt to fix the dilemma and they seek outside help. Often at time's people will make the decision to take their computer to a repair shop. This isn't something that is necessary and will often require you to spend money for things you can do yourself. Online computer forums are a great place to find information and guides on how to successfully reinstall and OS. If you still aren't able to fix it, I suggest you still avoid a repair shop and see if you have a friend or family member that knows a something about computers that can take care of it for you.

If you don't want to have to constantly reinstall your OS every time you get a virus I'd suggest you get some anti-virus software, and a backup program. The anti-virus program will act as a safe guard and will protect your system from intruders. I don't suggest you use Norton Anti Virus or McAfee; they both are bloated anti-virus software's that use a lot of system resources and cost quite a bit of money. A good free alternative is AVG Free. The backup program will serve as a utility to have copies of your important files. Even if you don't plan on getting a viruses having backups is important for example, what if the hard drive fails? Regardless of your individual needs Virus protection is a necessity you can't afford to be without.